Penelope

The wife of the hero Odysseus* in Greek mythology, Penelope was celebrated
for her faithfulness, patience, and feminine virtue. For the 20 years that
her husband was away during and after the Trojan Warf, Penelope remained
true to him and helped prevent his kingdom from falling into other hands.

Penelope's parents were Prince Icarius of Sparta and the
nymph
Periboea. Periboea hid her infant daughter as soon as she was born,
knowing that Icarius had wanted a son. As soon as Icarius discovered the
baby girl, he threw her into the sea to drown. However, a family of ducks
rescued her. Seeing this as an
omen,
Icarius named the child Penelope (after the Greek word for
"duck") and raised her as his favorite child.

When Penelope reached womanhood, Odysseus asked for her hand in marriage.
Although reluctant to part with his daughter, Icarius agreed, and Penelope
went with her new husband to his home on the island of Ithaca. Penelope
and Odysseus were deeply in love, so it was with great sorrow that
Odysseus later left her and their infant son, Telemachus, to fight in the
Trojan War.

nymph
minor goddess of nature, usually represented as young and beautiful

omen
sign of future events

The Trojan War lasted ten years, and it took Odysseus another ten years to
get home to Ithaca. During that time, Penelope received the attentions of
many suitors. For a while, she put them off by saying that she would
consider marriage only after she finished weaving a shroud for her
father-in-law, Laertes, who was
grieving over Odysseus's absence. Each day Penelope would sit weaving the
cloth, but at night she would secretly unravel her work. After three
years, a servant revealed Penelope's secret, and she had to finish the
shroud. When her suitors became insistent again, Penelope announced that
she would marry the man who could shoot an arrow through the loops on a
row of 12 ax heads.

Unknown to Penelope, Odysseus had arrived home disguised as a beggar. He
wanted to review the situation in his kingdom before revealing his return.
The disguised Odysseus won the archery contest and then killed all the
suitors with help from his son Telemachus. At first Penelope would not
believe that Odysseus was her husband, for the gods had hidden his
identity from her. However, Odysseus revealed his true identity by telling
Penelope a secret about their marriage that only they knew, and the loving
couple were finally reunited.